To Change A Life
by Sakkaro
Summary: When my friend runs away from it all into the wilds of Johto, I know I have to do something. Leaving behind everyone and everything I've ever known, I have to catch up with her – before someone else does.


_**To Change A Life**_

Summary: When my friend runs away from it all into the wilds of Johto, I know I have to do something. Leaving behind everyone and everything I've ever known, I have to catch up with her – before someone else does.

/

When I was little, I was unpopular. That was a fact. I was unpopular because of the way I talked, the way I acted. That – if I'm honest – wasn't my fault. It was how I was raised, among a father with a high-flying political job and a mother who was proud of it. She was constantly flaunting my father's profession in other people's faces, and we lived in a small town. Everyone knew everyone. And if she insulted one person, even accidentally, they'd let their kids know, and they'd let their friends know, and their friends would let their kids know.

Stay away from the soft-spoken, posh kid.

It became a rule in my primary school, to keep away from that weirdo with the yellow hair. In an area with mainly Kantoan backgrounds, seeing a face from Sinnoh was rare. My hair was looked upon with fear, disgust, and, on occasion, awe. Before the house-warming debacle when I was five, other kids were constantly trying to come over and touch my hair. That's just how kids were.

Then there was the whole 'house-warming disaster' as it was known around New Bark Town. Long story short, the Hoenn couple that had just moved in next door were throwing a house-warming party and had invited everyone in the neighbourhood – except us.

I don't know why, but I know it wasn't malicious. Maybe my mother threw it away accidentally. Maybe they just forgot. Who knows?

My mother stormed over, demanding to know what was going on, and why they were making such a huge racket. My mother and the couple got into a huge row, and it ended with my mother storming out and declaring that 'those dark-skinned freaks should never have moved here'.

I suspect my mother said something quite racist.

After that, as you could probably guess, no-one wanted to be friends with me.

No-one wanted to be friends with me, except Lyra.

/

"Why are you all alone?" A quiet, girlish voice rang out, across the sandpit.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up at her, long hair falling into my eyes. I flicked it away immediately. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, playing in the sandpit has to be with a friend." She laughed, and stepped into the sandpit. "Otherwise it's not fun, you know?"

"Um… Okay then…" I murmured, looking away. "What do you want to make?"

"Hmmm…" The girl said. "Let's make a Pokémon battle!" She yelled it suddenly leaning forward in delight.

"Okay…" I said, unsure. My experience with Pokémon was limited – the closest I'd ever come to a real life Pokémon was in the zoo, and maybe the senior graduation days when they gave the leaving students their starters.

"Right, it'll have to be a 3D picture because it would be difficult to make them stand up…"

She frowned in concentration and started drawing the outline of a battle, one that we would fill with sand and turn into a master piece. We never finished it, but Lyra and I became fast friends, and to this day we still are.

/

It was Tuesday when we heard the news, 7 years later. Lyra and I had been snowball fighting only a few days ago, and I was looking forward to making a snow-castle today. The whole family was sitting at the breakfast table, eating cereal, in my case, or eggs, in my father's case. My mother had already eaten, and was washing up her own bowl in the kitchen. My father was more interested in the newspaper than his food though, so I was eyeing up the eggs on his plate.

My father turned the page, and I caught a glimpse of Lyra's face on the page he had just been reading. I asked him about it, and he shrugged and handed the whole newspaper to me, turning his attention to his breakfast. I scowled. No eggs for me, then.

I looked at the newspaper, and then gasped at the title. The New Bark Reporter rarely had any big stories, but there'd been a small forest fire in the woods recently and that had made the front page. The title of story with Lyra's face next to it read: 'YOUNG GIRL RUNS FROM HOME – TO TAKE THE LEAGUE CHALLENGE?'

I scanned the whole document quickly. It appeared that on Sunday, Lyra had disappeared in the middle of the night, taking only a marill and some supplies. I read on, awed, as it appeared she had left a note. They apparently weren't allowed to print it word for word, although it went along the lines of 'I can't wait until graduation, I don't want to go another day in this boring hellhole, and I'll see you when I'm Champion'.

And that was it. No mention of me, only the barest mention of her family – and no time frame for when she would be back. Becoming the Champion could take months, years! She could be back by next summer, or I might be fifteen when she finally came back!

I couldn't let her just… Throw everything away. We were supposed to graduate _together_, go through the League circuit _together_, fight to a draw after beating the champion, and be declared co-Champions – she couldn't just _run away_.

I refused to let her. And in a split-second decision, I made a choice.

"I'm going after her."

/

My parents were none too pleased, of course. In fact, they viciously denied me the chance. But I had made my choice, and I was going after my best friend. Nothing could stop me, and nothing would. I packed my bags, putting in everything I thought I would need. Over the next few days I began to contemplate the different ways I could get a starter.

I could use my father's credit card to buy one, but that might put me under suspicion for fraud. And I didn't want my start to trainer life be as a criminal. I could use some of my saved-up money, but I doubted there was enough for a really good Pokémon. I could try and convince the resident professor, Elm, to give me one, but that seemed even more unlikely.

The only other option I could think of was to attempt a capture in the wild, since I could just about afford a Poke Ball. Of course, I'd be limited to rattata, pidgey, sentret and the like, although if I went into Dark Cave I might be able to snag a geodude…

In the end, it was all for nought. My lack of focus brought my behaviour into dangerous regions. I snapped at teachers, got angry for no reason. My grades slipped, and soon the only subject that was keeping up was Pokémon studies. I furiously looked at everything I knew, behavioural patterns, social groupings, locations, diets, and on and on and on, until I was sick of looking at a picture of a Psyduck and gave up.

I didn't leave home for three days. I skipped school. My parents barely noticed. I'd grown detached, lonely. I felt like I didn't know them, and they certainly didn't know me. I unpacked my bags, repacked them, sorted, messed up, changed. I grew distracted. I was tempted to run away, like Lyra did, and take my luck in the wild.

But something changed my mind.

/

"Your uncle is coming to stay." My mother informed me curtly, one rainy Thursday afternoon.

"Huh?" I asked, groggy. I hadn't slept well last night, and school had been hell.

"Uncle Dalton." My mother said in a lighter tone. "From Sinnoh? He comes round at least once a year."

"… Right." I murmured, and looked at my food. Had it really been a year since the last time Dalton had come? Lyra had left a few months after that… What was happening? She had a _nine month _head start on me. I would _never _catch her up. Hell, I didn't even have a Pokémon yet!

I remembered Dalton clearly, though. A smiling, robust man, with wide shoulders and a constant grin. But short-temped, oh yes, and incredibly patriotic. He had _hated _our move to Sinnoh, but had loved his sister, my mother, too much to hold it against her. He had the prejudice gene, as my father sometimes called it. He constantly ranted about the superiority of Sinnoh 'mons.

I could use that to my advantage.

/

I was packed, I had my backpack, full of clothes, food – non-perishable mostly, I wasn't an idiot – and money. All my savings, in fact. I left in the early hours of the morning on Saturday, and waited. My Uncle was bound to turn up at some point, I just had to know when.

It was a few hours later. The wind had picked up a bit, and the hoothoot were beginning to retreat into their nests, as the sun rose higher. Some of the pidgey had decided it was safe to come out and were pecking at the bits of food that lay scattered across New Bark.

Dalton came in through route 29, having thoroughly trounced the Pokémon that ley there. His suit wasn't in the least ruffled. The suitcase that he was dragging along after him hadn't a scratch.

I approached him.

"Uncle Dalton!" I said, rather loudly. "Fancy seeing you here." I smiled warmly, doing my best to convey admiration, respect, and happiness.

"Ah, you little tyke, what are you doing out here?" He asked, then pulled me into a hug. "How are you doing? Johto air been getting to you?"

Never mind that I had been born in Johto, I was a born Sinnohan to him. Good. "I'm good, I'm good, you?" When he nodded in response, I continued. "As to what I'm doing…" I smiled. "Actually, I'm just off to get my first Pokémon."

"Ah, starting your journey, kid? I remember when I was just starting mine – good times they, were, with a real Sinnoh battler by my side." He said wistfully. This was good – I had to appeal to the trainer in him. "I was born in Pastoria, you know?" I widened my eyes and leaned in. "Yeah, started my journey with a croagunk – a true Pokémon! Not like these crummy sentret and hoothoot. Feh."

I nodded in appreciation. "Yeah, Professor Elm promised me he'd grab me a sentret, actually. It's a shame; I was really hoping to get a good Pokémon as my starter. Y'know – a Sinnoh battler." I threw his words back at him. It was time to see what he truly felt for me.

"Oh you do, do you?" He smiled, showing off teeth. "Well, you're in luck – I've got just the one for you." He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Hatched him just recently, not much training, plenty of time to get used to you."

He presented me with a ball. "Here you go, son. Take this, and use him well. God knows you could do with a decent Pokémon in this place. That route's crawling with damn weaklings."

I nodded, and we hugged. "Now you be careful, alright?" He asked, looking me in the eye. "Take good care of your Pokémon, trust 'em as you'd trust yourself. Now get out there, and show this region who's boss!"

I grinned – the excitement he had gained when giving me my starter was infectious. "I will Uncle – I'll make Sinnoh proud."

"Attaboy." He said, and ruffled my hair. "I'm popping in to see my sister, any last words you want me to relay?"

I shook my head. "Actually, Uncle, I'd prefer if you didn't mention this at all. We kinda had a bit of a row, and dad took my side and mum the other. So it would bring up bad memories." I was babbling slightly, but hopefully my somewhat frantic expression would go toward convincing Dalton that it was a bad row, and he wouldn't mention it.

"Awright kid, will do." He shook my hand once more, then pulled me into a hug. "Go get 'em, kid."

"Oh, I'll get 'em alright, Uncle," I said, "you don't have to worry about that."

And he didn't. I would be getting them – if them meant her. And if her meant Lyra. I was going to bring her back, no matter what.

/

Thank you everyone for reading, please leave a review. This will hopefully be an epic, thought-inducing experience that leaves you shocked to your core. Rating may increase – I started writing this after finishing Pedestal, and I'm already several chapters in. Wish me luck!


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